Aussies lose it over the prices at Vivid Sydney – and you won’t believe how much it costs for a basic drink

Lively festival goers are outraged by the ‘ridiculous’ prices of food and drink, saying the once free event would now cost families hundreds of dollars.

The annual outdoor lighting festival returned to Sydney on May 24, but many have been left in disbelief by the exorbitant prices at the food stalls.

Social media influencer Lily Huynh showed off everything she ate at the festival in a TikTok video, with the prices leaving her 882,000 followers stunned.

One particular item was condemned for its exorbitant cost after Ms Huynh revealed that a lemonade cost $12.

“I started my evening at the Fire Kitchen in Central, which has some great dining options,” she said.

“This store smelled amazing, so I got their $35 Brazilian Meat Box with beef, chicken and chorizo… Then I got these $23 Birria Tacos and added cheese for another two dollars.”

She also bought a $20 butter chicken jaffle and a $7 masala chai from an Indian-inspired food truck before grabbing a $13 crème brûlée churro cone for dessert.

‘After this I went to Circular Quay. A lot of the shops here are similar to those at the Easter Show,” Ms Huynh said.

“I got a huge $14 watermelon with ice cream. The ice cream was just okay, but the watermelon itself was fresh, crunchy and juicy.

“I skipped the fairy tales this year, it cost $18…I ended my night with a $12 lemonade.”

Social media users branded the sky-high prices as ‘insane’ and ‘expensive’.

“Vivid is just a scam these days,” said one.

“I’m going to apply for a bank loan and go to Vivid,” another joked.

“That’s my entire weekly shopping budget you spent in one day,” the third person commented.

“We made over a hundred dollars ($100) on street food in one night at Vivid,” wrote another.

“Crazy how these wouldn’t have cost more than $15 a few years ago,” said someone else.

This comes after a recent outcry over the obscene charges for one of the attractions.

Sydneysider Nariman Dien, 22, was keen to see Dark Spectrum: A New Journey at the Wynyard Tunnels this weekend until she was put off by the price tag.

“You’re telling me that in this economy, if I had a kid or two kids, I would have to pay so much money just to look at the lights and then also for food and all that stuff,” she said.

‘Are you serious? Real?’

Ticket prices for adults range from $42 to $51, ticket prices for children ages 6 to 12 range from $24 to $35, while tickets for families cost $98 to $154.

Ticket prices vary depending on whether visitors attend during peak or off-peak hours, and spectators must also pay a surcharge of $5 per person if they purchase same-day tickets.

“There’s going to be a lot of people in town … charging people $10,” Ms. Dien said.

“Are you really going to spend $51 per person for 20 minutes of something?”

Ms Dien wonders why festival goers have to pay so much when they visit the city.

“You may not agree with me, but I feel like people aren’t spending that much on the cost of living,” she said.

‘Now that Vivid exists and people are looking forward to it, are you going to charge people that much? You could have made it cheaper.’

A spokesperson for Destination NSW said Vivid Sydney aims to offer a range of experiences, including free and ticketed events across the festival.

‘From the 8km Vivid Light Walk with more than 30 light installations and 3D projections, lively music every evening in Tumbalong Park to the ‘After the Fact’ panel event at Barangaroo House – these are all examples of free events taking place across the festival will take place,’ he shared Yahoo.

“For the foodies among us, there is also the Vivid Sydney Fire Kitchen, which offers free entry for barbecue demonstrations and masterclasses, ensuring accessibility for everyone across all four pillars of Vivid Sydney.”

It is clear that Vivid collaborates with artists and organizations for some events and that the ticket sales are recouped.

But this isn’t the first time the festival has come under scrutiny for its awards.

Sydneysiders blasted event organizers for charging customers an exorbitant amount for tickets to Lightscape at the Royal Botanic Gardens, setting families back $128.

“It’s almost an hour walk with quite a few monitors and MUCH better than the monitors they had last time,” said someone on Reddit.

“Most of them were nice, I’d say one or two were really nice to see. The $40 ticket is certainly a stretch in my opinion.”

“It’s not worth paying $40 to be herded like cattle down a crowded path looking at LEDS just lying on the ground,” said another.

Lightscape is back again this year, with adult tickets up to $38 and family tickets up to $128. Same-day tickets are subject to a surcharge of $4 per person.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Vivid for comment.